Expectations
by TheLestrangeMistress
Summary: Narcissa Black has to pick a man she wants as her husband. Can her father negotiate a marriage contract with him?


Narcissa Black sat at an antique table in the drawing room of her childhood home. Her parents, who had called this meeting, were sat opposite her. Both of them wore serious expressions upon their faces, expressions which, Narcissa noted, were only used in the most serious of situations. The last time she had seen those facial expressions were when they had disowned her elder sister, Andromeda.

Her father broke the silence "As you know, you will be of age soon, and we need to find you a suitable husband." He paused before carrying on. "You know that your mother and I would never force you to marry someone that you did not like, and therefore we have compiled a list of men that we think you would like," he said, offering her the piece of parchment.

Narcissa took it and glanced at a number of the names on it. She had known that this day would come ever since her parents had arranged Bellatrix's marriage to Rodolphus, and she would have watched Andromeda if she had not been disowned. She decided that it would be easier if she crossed off the names of the men that she did not want to marry at all. Rising from her seat, she brought the closest quill and ink bottle from the counter to the table.

"I will go through the names and cross those who I do not like off the list. I shall circle those who I would not mind being married to if my first choices are taken, or if they reject the offer. You may leave me if you wish, I am sure I will be a while," she said to her parents.

Once Narcissa had been through the list there were only three names left – Lucius Malfoy, William Greengrass, and Louis de Bourgois. The main name which had been circled as a second choice was Rabastan, the brother of her sister's husband. She knew that if her first three suitors turned her marriage offer down (which she highly doubted), then her father would be reluctant to marry her to him. He already had one daughter married into the family, what was the point in having another? He would be her last choice of husband. Out of the names which were completely unblemished, Lucius Malfoy was her first choice.

They had known each other since before going to Hogwarts, as their families interacted socially. They became closer when they reached Hogwarts as they were both sorted into Slytherin, and then became prefects. Narcissa had always thought that Lucius was handsome and well mannered, like a pureblood should be. He was everything she had ever wanted in a husband.

Narcissa had overheard many horrible stories of what some wives went through at the hands of their husbands, and did not want to endure the same treatment. She knew that this would not be the case if she married Lucius. He was a cold and vindictive person on the outside, but once you got to know him he was warm. If you shared his ideas, values, and held the same passion for them as he did, he would respect you.

That was not the only reason why Lucius was top of the list; the others were more practical. He was easily the wealthiest man on there. Narcissa needed to be sure that her husband was capable of taking care of her and their future children financially. It was also so she could maintain her lavish lifestyle without having to worry that her husband would go bankrupt just after the wedding.

Lucius also had many connections in and outside of the ministry through his parents, and could call on them when he needed them. This was a blessing in their current political climate. She knew that after graduating Hogwarts, Lucius would join the Dark Lord, an offence punishable by law. To bear the Dark Mark was to sentence yourself to a lifetime in Azkaban if caught.

Narcissa did somewhat feel worried by the prospect that her husband could go to Azkaban, but thought that it was not likely to happen. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan were Death Eaters, yet none of them had been caught and arrested. If Lucius employed the same tactics as they do then there would be only a slim possibility of him going to prison.

She wandered down the hall with the parchment in her hand. She could hear voices from one of the rooms near the end and followed them. Opening the door she saw her sister, her brother-in-law, and Rabastan.

"Hello, Bella, Rodolphus, Rabastan," Narcissa said. hoping that she would not have to discuss the prospect of her betrothal in front of them. Seeing the important look on her mother's face, she tried desperately to think of something to say, but she was too slow.

"We have just been discussing Narcissa's impending betrothal," their mother explained to her eldest daughter, Bellatrix. "We have gone through the same process for Narcissa as we did for you," she elaborated.

"Have you found someone you like on the list?" Bellatrix asked, smirking. She knew that her sister had a 'thing' for Lucius. It was obvious in her eyes that they both found each other attractive, and that there was an attraction between them.

"You know I would have, Bella. Our parents make excellent choices, as you know." Narcissa replied sweetly.

Bellatrix scowled at her younger sister. It was well known among the pureblood society that Rodolphus had not been her first choice, nor her second, or third either. Bellatrix had been very hard to marry off. She may have been a Black, but her independence was hard to overlook. Many of her first few choices wanted submissive wives who stayed at home, and tended to the children, not wives who went around after the Dark Lord. No, they said, that would be their job, not hers. The only reason Bellatrix married in the end was not to disappoint her parents. It was her duty to uphold the 'Most Ancient and Noble House of Black', and honour who she was, and who her parents were. She did not love Rodolphus, she never would. It was a fact that he accepted rather well.

Turning to Narcissa, she asked, "I assume you have finished with the list?"

"Yes, mother I have." She obediently slipped the piece of parchment into her mother's hands.

Crossing the room, Narcissa took a seat in a faded green chair. Looking over at her sister, she saw that she was beginning to age. The once line-free face was now replaced with rows of tiny ripples on the forehead. Not enough to make her seem more than a few years older, but enough to show the stress and pressure that she was under from the Dark Lord.

"What are you staring at, Cissy?" Bellatrix asked.

"Nothing, Bella, it just feels like I have not seen you for a long while, and yet it has only been three months since Christmas," Narcissa said.

"So it has. It is only a little more than a year away when we can see more of each other,"

"Narcissa," her father called softly.

"Yes father?" Narcissa asked nervously. While she and Bellatrix had been conversing, so had her parents. She knew that this would be the moment to seal her fate. She hoped more than anything that they would choose Lucius over the others.

"Your mother and I think you made excellent choices, and we have decided to try and make an agreement with the one at the top of the list. We both know that you prefer him over the other two," her father said in a businesslike manner.

"Thank you father, I appreciate that you and mother respect my views."

Interrupting the conversation Bellatrix asked "Who have you chosen, father?" She was almost certain that it was Lucius; however her father could not be underestimated.

"Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix. He would have been my first choice anyway; the fact that your sister likes him helps."

"I thought so," Bellatrix replied, satisfied.

A little while later, Narcissa was getting ready for bed in her room when an owl knocked on her closed window with its beak. She recognised it at once as Lucius' owl, and immediately went to take the letter from it. Opening it, she saw his familiar handwriting,

_Dear Narcissa,_

_My father has just informed me that both of our parents accept our choice of each other for a spouse. I know that your parents would not choose a husband for you without consulting you first, and I thank you for choosing my name. I have admired you for many years, and if the betrothal agreement is finalised (which I have no doubt it will be), then I shall be honoured to have you as my wife. There is no doubt that I will see you before term starts, until then goodbye._

_Lucius Malfoy_

As she finished reading the letter, a smile crept onto her face. Now she knew that there was no chance Lucius was opposed to the match.

Climbing into bed, her mind wandered to an autumn day in September. That day was the first time she had known for definite that she wanted to be with Lucius as his wife.

_It was a warm autumn day, and Narcissa had chosen to walk around the lake on her own. She had no idea what had possessed her to do it, all she knew was that she wanted to be on her own for a while._

_It was about halfway around the lake that Narcissa began to feel as if she was being watched. Looking around, she could see members of other houses sitting by trees and lounging in the sun, but no one was directly looking at her. Resuming her walk, she felt a presence behind her. It was not until the person tried to put their arms around her waist that she went to defend herself. Struggling against their strength, she lost balance and fell down bringing her attacker with her._

_One of the first things she noticed was that the attacker's hair was white blonde which only belonged to one person. The other thing was how close the two of them were. He had literally fallen on top of her._

_She was about to say something when Lucius looked up. The gleam of the mellow autumn sun through his hair made him look angelic, and stole Narcissa's breath away; she had never known a man look so beautiful before. She often referred to men as being handsome, or manly, and Lucius did possess those qualities, but it was obvious he possessed other, more feminine ones._

_Lucius stayed still for a second before he claimed her lips with his own. The kiss was all consuming and neither party could get enough. Narcissa tried to draw his body closer to hers, though there was no space between them._

_The kiss stopped almost as soon as it started. Lucius had thought it was better not to go on as he would not able to control himself. He already felt his desire for her creeping into his conscious mind, and he knew that he could not act on it._

_Narcissa lay there, unsure of why he was reluctant to carry on. Maybe he had not wanted to kiss her in the first place. She tried to rid herself of that thought. Lucius's desire for her had been the topic of many conversations with her dormitory friends and she denied it every time._

_"Have I done something wrong?" she asked._

_"No, Narcissa, you have not. I... I stopped because I do not want to compromise you,"_

_Narcissa's face softened at the thought that he did not want to ruin her marriage prospects. She had always known that beyond the cold exterior he was a gentleman, and that he would not harm a woman._

_"Its okay Lucius, I understand."_

The memory faded as sleep overtook her tired body. She slept soundly that night, despite the sound of howling of werewolves not far away.

"The betrothal documents have been finalised. All we need now is for you and Lucius to sign them," Cygnus Black said to his youngest daughter.

"When are we expected to sign them, father?" Narcissa asked.

"Next Tuesday," he replied. Suddenly he sighed, "I cannot believe that my daughters have all grown up, it seems only yesterday that your mother was giving birth to the two of you.".

Narcissa immediately noticed that he said two instead of three. Her elder sister, Andromeda, had eloped and married a Mudblood. This caused her to be disowned, and her parents had never spoken of her again. Their Aunt Walburga had even blasted her name off the Black family tree in Grimmauld Place.

It was at times like these that she knew her parents would think of her, but would refuse to speak her name. It was if it carried a disease, something which could spread and bring even more heartache than it already had.

Not quite knowing what to do, Narcissa decided to talk about wedding plans. "How soon do we start planning the wedding after Lucius and I have signed the papers?" she asked.

Smiling at his daughter, her father replied, "As soon as you have signed them. You will be discussing ideas with both your mother and his throughout you next year at Hogwarts,"

The next few days went by very slowly for Narcissa. Even a visit from Bellatrix was not enough to pass the time very quickly. The only thing she wanted to know about was the wedding, and when the documents were to be signed. Narcissa wanted them done, so she could get through the next year at Hogwarts and marry Lucius next summer. All she wanted was to become Mrs Lucius Malfoy.

Tuesday morning finally arrived, and Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief when she looked at her calendar. Walking downstairs, Narcissa entered the dining room to her parents conversing merrily.

"Here is my darling daughter," her mother said getting out of her seat to greet Narcissa. "Today is the day, my child, I am happy that you will have a good husband," her mother said, leading her to her normal seat at the dinner table.

Narcissa hardly said anything the whole time she was there. Her mother babbled on about one thing, and then another, then,

"The dress you are wearing is perfect, Narcissa," she said, snapping Narcissa out of her distant thoughts.

"Thank you, mother, it was one of the ones you bought me at Christmas," she replied. The dress was simple, nothing too extravagant as they were only going to the solicitors. The deep blue material hung elegantly on her dainty figure, coming down to the middle of her calf. The colour enhanced the shine in her light blue eyes, a shine she only held on joyous occasions such as today.

"We better be leaving now, we do not want to be late," her father said.

"Of course not, father,"

Both parties arrived on time to the solicitor's office with enough time to spare a quick conversation. Narcissa was smiling brightly at her future husband. She noticed that he looked like an angel again, as the morning sun shined around his head like a halo.

"Mr Lopez will see you now," the secretary said.

Filing in the office, they all noticed that there was a thick layer of dust everywhere. It seemed as if no one had ever cleaned the office. The only part which was unaffected was the main desk.

"Mr Black, Mr Malfoy," Mr Lopez said, extending his hand to each man. "The documents have been written up as you have requested, there is however one extra thing that Miss Black and young Mr Malfoy will have to sign. It is at the request of the Ministry that all couples having an arranged marriage sign a document stating that they are of age, and they are entering the marriage consensually."

Narcissa and Lucius stepped forward, and first signed the required Ministry document, and then the betrothal document their fathers had agreed upon. They finished at the same time, and took delight that the other did not hesitate to sign either document.

As they departed, Narcissa could not think of anything but her wedding next year. It was finally set in stone. She would bring honour and wealth to the family, and above all she would be happy. She knew what was expected of a pureblood wife, and she would rise to the occasion; she would be perfect.

At the age of forty two, Narcissa Malfoy could not believe the way her life had turned out.

She looked around the Great Hall at Hogwarts unable to believe her eyes. The Dark Lord was dead, gone forever, never to walk the earth again. Narcissa could not be gladder that his terrible reign had come to an end.

Although she had believed in his cause, to rid the Wizarding World of those who were not worthy to practise magic; she would not sacrifice her family for it. She had even resorted to asking Potter whether Draco was still alive in the castle, and the moment he said yes, she knew that family came first.

Family. That was one thing which Narcissa valued highly. It wasn't until Lucius was imprisoned in Azkaban that she realised just how much she loved him. It was obvious in their earlier years; they always showed small affection in public. It disappeared as the years went on, and only resurfaced after the war was over. The effect of not being together, of being under constant fear that the other would be murdered at any second, showed them that they could not take anything for granted.

She had kept the promise she had made to herself about being the perfect pureblood wife by delivering a son, a Malfoy heir, to carry on the line. She was the same in society, keeping all of the right acquaintances, and all of her beliefs.

Even after the Dark Lord had fallen the first time, she made sure people knew she was above them. She could not, however, do it to the same effect that her husband did. Her husband. He was still the only person she had ever loved, and although she never saw him as an angel in the light again, she knew deep down that he would always be that way to her.


End file.
